Thursday, September 28, 2006

Only two left of the six kittens born in our house on September 28, 1991--the last two sisters, Frieda and Cissy.

At least, that's what I believe. I haven't heard a thing about what became of the kitten we called "Dirt Nose" for the black spot on his nose after we sent him to Nanwalek to live with an older gentleman there. I checked on him a few days later and the woman who had arranged for me to send him over there said he was sleeping in the old man's bed, so I hope it was a good life for him.

His brother, Frosty, found a good home with friends of friends and I ran into the woman in the vet's office in Soldotna about five years ago. They loved Frosty and he was doing great. I hope he had a good life, too.

The calico sister--the one I had wanted to keep for myself--was actually the first to find a home because she was so pretty. She went to a cat-lover in Homer that I had met through Homer Animal Friends, but since she was allowed outside to hunt, I doubt she is still alive. Outdoor cats just don't last as long in general. I know she was loved and that's all I could wish for her.

We kept Demi and three of her daughters--the Three Sisters--girls in various combinations of orange and white. They were a cohesive family unit, our own little pride within the larger population of cats. They groomed each other, slept together and defended each other in the skuffles of cat-dom.

We lost big, gentle Lucy to cancer two years ago. I am still very sad about it and miss her quiet companionability. Temperatmentally, she was probably most like her mother (who is persisting on in apparent good health though she is in her late teens by now) and you couldn't want a better, more basic cat.

Now, Frieda is losing weight and the spectre of cancer looms once again over the little family. This may be her last birthday, so I will spend it being glad for her and her sister and their littermates who brought laughter and happiness into our house on this day in 1991.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Lisaviolet had an entry in her diary about her ten favorite movies, so I thought I would post my response here and invite you, gentle readers, to post your own favorite--either here or in your own blogs.

I’m a SF-fan, so at the top of my list would be:

1) Blade Runner--not just because of Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer but because the film is so starkly beautiful and asks questions about what makes us human, what gives us souls.

2) The Thirteenth Floor--because it asks some of the same questions as above, and is a visual homage to Blade Runner, and because I love Vincent D’Onofrio and in this film, I get to see him play two totally opposite characters.

3) Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (aka the second film) This is Star Wars but darker and less innocent. The texture of the plot is richer and more morally complicated. I like that. I must have seen this film a hundred times.

4) Serenity--because I would list the whole Firefly television series if I could. But since we are talking specificly about films, I can’t. So I’ll list the film sequel.

5) Dune--I prefer the mini-series but the film is excellent in its own right.

Moving away from SF…

6) Spirit of the Wind--a small film made by an Alaskan Native corporation about George Attla, a noted dog-musher. But it is more. It is lovingly filmed in Interior Alaska and gives quiet insights into the life of indigenous people living in their world and in a world not of their own making. It is a love story about a man and his dog, and about not giving up. I wish I could find it on DVD or even VHS because my copy is getting very worn.

9) The Lord of the Rings (the whole trilogy--damn it!) Because it is a masterpiece and maybe they are right when they say it is a tale about how to face the end of life. We are all going West.

10) V for Vendetta--because I love Alan Moore’s graphic novels (when are they going to make “Watchmen” into a film?) And because none of Neil Gaiman’s works have been made into films yet. When they do, the chronicles of the Sandman will be at the top of my list of favorites.